NETHERLANDS – Plukon Food Group has agreed to acquire 51% stake in Fresh Care Convenience, a producer and processor fruit and vegetables owned by its Dutch peer, Staay Food Group.
Based in Dronten, the Netherlands, Fresh Care Convenience (FCC) processes fruit and vegetables into mixes, meal components and full-meal salads.
FCC majorly markets its products in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. The company’s production facility in Dronten employs a total of around 400 people and reports revenue of approximately €78 million (US$86.79 million).
Plunkon said that the deal will complement its poultry business in the European market, which the company has operated for the past 10 years in addition to a production facility specialising in fresh meals in Wezep in the Dutch province of Gelderland.
“The new partnership with FCC is in line with Plukon’s objective of investing substantially in expertise in vegetable supply chains and vegetable processing,” Plukon said in a statement.
Under the new partnership, the two companies will be further pooling their resources for the purpose of sourcing ingredients and managing existing logistics channels and available production capacity.
In addition, Plukon and FCC expects to jointly improve their quality assurance levels for vegetables, along with vegetable processing techniques.
Plukon maintains that the two companies are highly complementary in terms of the product and market grid.
Whereas Fresh Care Convenience – which specialises in fresh-cut vegetables, vegetable mixes and full-meal salads – has a strong position in the German retail market, Plukon works closely with a major Dutch retailer for convenience meal solutions such as steamed meals, stir-fry dishes and full-meal salads.
As one of the major European supplier of chicken and meal products, Plukon Food Group has five production sites in the Netherlands, three in Belgium, five in Germany, one in Poland and four in France.
The transaction is subject to approval to the appropriate competition authorities.
Plukon said that FCC is marked by positive drive and a strong business sense, and this will also serve as the basis for further defining their partnership, with the intention being for Plukon to eventually (within a 3-year period) acquire the remaining 49% of the shares.
